Turn signal problem

[donald burch]

I have a 1999 olds intrique and my turn signals stay on solid in front and flash real fast in rear! I have replcaed the emergancy flasher switch but didn't correct problum.

[ND4SP]

Originally Posted by donald burch

I have a 1999 olds intrique and my turn signals stay on solid in front and flash real fast in rear! I have replcaed the emergancy flasher switch but didn't correct problum.

What happens when your headlights are on?

I would make an educated guess, that your light control module is bad or has a blown fuse powering it.

[donald burch]

Everything else works fine the turn signal bulb in the front stays on steady and flashes fast in back.

Originally Posted by ND4SP

What happens when your headlights are on?

I would make an educated guess, that your light control module is bad or has a blown fuse powering it.

[busboy4]

Hi
I would check that front bulb. I think it might be a dual filament bulb with one filament failed. I have not had this exact problem on my Intrigue, but I had an older car that would exhibit similar oddities with a partial bulb failure.

Good Luck

[ND4SP]

Originally Posted by busboy4

Hi
I would check that front bulb. I think it might be a dual filament bulb with one filament failed. I have not had this exact problem on my Intrigue, but I had an older car that would exhibit similar oddities with a partial bulb failure.

Good Luck

If it was only one bulb, that could be if it was only one side. I thought it was both front bulbs. If they are just on the parking mode, if they are on full brightness. Then it could be the light module...

[busboy4]

Originally Posted by ND4SP

If it was only one bulb, that could be if it was only one side. I thought it was both front bulbs. If they are just on the parking mode, if they are on full brightness. Then it could be the light module...

Hi

I think I see what you are saying - both front turn signals are affected. That does sound more involved, but I would still encourage a bulb check. Start simple.

Good luck

[Jimmy Olsen]

Originally Posted by donald burch

I have a 1999 olds intrique and my turn signals stay on solid in front and flash real fast in rear! I have replcaed the emergancy flasher switch but didn't correct problum.

Interesting problem. You stated that you changed the "emergency flasher switch" but it seems to me that the turn signal flasher could be the culprit.

[Jimmy Olsen]

Originally Posted by donald burch

Everything else works fine the turn signal bulb in the front stays on steady and flashes fast in back.

Are both bulbs in the front steady and both bulbs in the back flashes fast or is it only on one side of the car?

[donald burch]

the flasher for the turn signal is part of the emergancy switch according to the servicemanager at the dealship.

Originally Posted by Jimmy Olsen

Interesting problem. You stated that you changed the "emergency flasher switch" but it seems to me that the turn signal flasher could be the culprit.

[donald burch]

Right and left side do the same thing.

Originally Posted by Jimmy Olsen

Are both bulbs in the front steady and both bulbs in the back flashes fast or is it only on one side of the car?

[donald burch]

I replaced both bulbs there dual element type.

Originally Posted by busboy4

Hi

I think I see what you are saying - both front turn signals are affected. That does sound more involved, but I would still encourage a bulb check. Start simple.

Good luck

[Jimmy Olsen]

Originally Posted by donald burch

I replaced both bulbs there dual element type.

When a turn signal bulb on the Intrigue goes bad, when you turn on the signal the indicator on the dash blinks really fast. The bulb that doesn't work is either dark or solid, but the bulb that is good blinks fast. Normally, the other side signal works fine. Anyway that is what I remember.

The problem is usually in a little connector that is between the wiring harness and the bulb holder. You need to take a look at those to see if they have gone bad on you. By that I mean burnt. Could be when you put in a new bulb it gets fried immediately. When I had the problem, the new bulb usually lasted a few days.

My guess is that the little connectors for both front turn signals have gone real bad on you and you need to replace them and get some new bulbs for the front. Is there a salvage yard near you? I replaced one of my front connectors after getting the part from a salvage yard. Just clip the wiring harness and take the bulb, the bulb holder and about 3 inches of wire. When you get home you will disconnect the wires from the bulb holder and you will see the little connector part. I paid $2 for one bulb and holder.

Make sure you have the rubber gasket that covers the access port to the turn signal. If not, cover it with masking tape. Hope this helps.

[IntrigueBeater]

Olsen is right. First of all just to avoid confusion, the lights that actually blink in the front are the small circular lights closest to the middle of the car that normally stay on. The lights closest to the corners (furthest from the circular lights) do stay on solid when you put on your turn signal, they do not blink. The reason why the back blinkers are blinking fast is because your front blinkers are not working.

Take off the 2 clips that hold the entire headlights on. Unplug the bulb thats circular & closest to the middle of the car, as described above. To do so, turn counter clockwise (or to the left) & pull it straight out.
When you have the bulb/harness out of the headlight assembly,
pull the bulb straight out the socket. Check the plastic on the bulb around the 2 metal contact points & socket to see if burned/melted. Its a common problem. The filaments in the bulbs could be fine but if the plastic & contacts around & on the bulb/socket are melted & burned it's not going to give a good connection & thus not work.
I just had to replace both of my front turn signal sockets & bulbs for this reason. If you look, the socket will just unplug from the harness.
You might have to go to your local GM dealer to get the front turn signals sockets. Have fun.

[dtownfb]

To add to IntrigueBeater's post, if you can wait a couple of days, order the sockets from www.gmpartsdirect.com. it's half what the dealership will charge you. I replaced mine in 2005.

[crabuback]

I have had somewhat limited success with cleaning the contacts on these connectors. With an emory board or sandpaper you can clean off some of the black residue and sometimes the original bulb which you thought was defective will work again. For some strange reason I have had this connector problem on the passenger side of the car several times (even after replacing this connector saver) and never have had the problem on the left side of the car.

It must be a poor design that it keeps failing on so many vehicles. Its kind of a strange concept also. In the aircraft business, especially the ground support testing business, connector savers are sometimes used so that you don't wear out the connector from numerous matings. typically these connectors contain many connections and are quite expensive, so you put a connector saver in between, and when it wears out, you only have to replace it and don't have to rewire. In this application, they've added an extra part that is of suspect design and wears out because it can't carry the current. You typically have to replace this expensive component instead of the relatively inexpensive bulb.